Fred Mania
Because nothing involving Freddy Adu can ever be simple, in the last 24 hours we've had all sorts of mayhem involving our young lad and his future plans. Thus, a brief timeline follows.
Yesterday, early afternoon: I get a random e-mail from someone I've never met warning me that Freddy Adu is about to sign an overseas contract. Not having any actual sources, I do nothing.
Yesterday, late afternoon: The masterful Steven Goff breaks the news on washingtonpost.com that Freddy will have a two-week training session with Manchester United. (That link is to this morning's story, but it's essentially the same stuff.) The Associated Press soon puts out a report of its own. Legendary AP scribe Joseph White may or may not have been wearing a beret at the time. Seriously, he wears a lot of berets.
Early this morning: Man-U puts a statement on its Web site shooting down Goff's report, which is never wise. British media outlets pick up the statement and run with it. "Despite the recent bout of speculation, the club's stance has not changed and Adu will not be attending a trial," the statement says, among other things. This also gives international headline writers an opportunity to write several variations on the "Much Adu About Nothing" headline, which must have made them mighty proud. Never woulda thought of that one. Good work, gents.
Later this morning: The club backtracks and so do the British media, now noting that Adu could sign with Man-U as early as January and pointing out that Man-U may have scored a coup with the training session. And they call Freddy a "starlet" and a "wunderkid."
Even later this morning: One blogger type says the saga caused "our beloved club's press officers [to] make a fool of themselves." Another blogger type uses the saga to criticize Man-U and think deep thoughts:
The possible arrival of Freddy Adu for a trial at Manchester United has already become a mini-saga, which at best exposes some pretty shambolic PR from Old Trafford.However, was it just a case of crossed wires or an overkeen press officer looking to quash a story? Or did the Glazers suddenly prick up their ears and think - 'Not a bad idea that'?
The blogger type goes on to discuss Freddy's skills, possibly causing massive kitten death, if I'm understanding the kitten thing correctly:
The one thing [Man-U] haven't tried is to sign a genuine American star, largely because - unless they made a bid for Mia Hamm - there haven't been any until now.Is Adu a genuine talent, or just a running, jinking, juggling bag of cash?
My conclusions:
1) Never doubt Steven Goff.
2) Wow, British people care a lot about their football.
3) I hope I eat my words, but this is Freddy Adu we're talking about, right? The guy who has 11 career goals in three seasons, and who, correct decision or not, was the first player subbed out of DCU's final game this year? All the speculation seems a bit much, no?
[P.S.....ESPNews now running brief clips of Freddy in conjunction with this story.]
By Dan Steinberg |
November 9, 2006; 11:54 AM ET
| Category:
D.C. United
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Posted by: Omar | November 9, 2006 12:23 PM
Freddy is in for a rude awakening. Even if he does get transfered to Europe, he'll be riding the pine for a long time. That means plenty of reserve matches, not making the substitute bench for 2 years or so, and cracking the line up for early Cup matches if at all. Let's see him pout in London the way he did in DC. He'll be laughed back here in no time.
Posted by: delantero | November 9, 2006 12:32 PM
It will be good to see Freddy get a chance to play fo rsome real coaches instead of the fools in DC.
Posted by: Piotr | November 9, 2006 12:57 PM
Well, I'm thankful that this year's Freddy stories are after the season has ended as to an excuse for why it ended.
Some things have gotten away from the facts. There are two ways for an American player to go to England (or any other country) to knock a ball around with a team. (there's more ways that actually involve games and pay)
1. A trial. Where the player goes to show his stuff with the understanding that the club may extend an offer. I'd also think that the host club (ManU in this case) would pay for Freddy's time.
2. A training session. Where the player gets to go hang out with the big boys see how big time professionals handle themselves and train. The player gets experience, friends, and contacts, the team gets a free look on their terms and an extra practice player for a couple of weeks. In this case, MLS/Nike would be paying Freddy's way.
Goff (you're right, Dan, never doubt) correctly states training.
Posted by: Kim | November 9, 2006 1:29 PM
Well, Dan, welcome to the world of DC fans for the last few years. No matter what the situation with Freddy Adu, it gets blown out of proportion and becomes some sort of epic event. For most DC United fans, Freddy Adu is a player with a lot of potential and flashes of brilliance - however, he's gotten too much hype for his own good and for MLS' own good. And MLS is as much at fault as Freddy's own marketing people.
Posted by: DC Fan | November 9, 2006 2:43 PM
You have to admit, "UNITED DO A FREDDY ADU TURN" is a pretty good headline!
Posted by: Pat | November 9, 2006 3:12 PM
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I could be wrong but I don't think Freddy can officially sign on with ManU or any Euro team until he's 18. Then visa hurdles could be a problem. Either way a two week practice session with one of the best teams in the world would do Freddy a world of good. He could use the time to up his game. Either way Freddy could be a bonafide star. He's generally not in a scoring position for DCU but he's damn creative and when he's on he can be troublesome. The problem is that he's inconsistant. I'm not sure if that's an age thing or if that's just Freddy. He's improved dramatically over the last three seasons and a Euro team would be smart to grab him now and then let him develop on a loan deal for a season or two.